Robert Rodriguez sure seems to have a soft spot for PR-challenged celebs. 2010’s Machete saw him working with a notoriously troubled Lindsay Lohan, and for its sequel Machete Kills, Rodriguez is upping the ante with not one but two recovering trainwrecks.

Mel Gibson has been signed on to play a “Bond-style villain” since April, and now Charlie Sheen has signed on to play one of the apparent good guys — specifically, the president of the United States. Rodriguez himself made the announcement this week, along with a few snapshots from the set. Flip through the photos and read about Sheen’s casting after the jump.

Rodriguez took to Twitter (via The Film Stage) to reveal that Sheen had joined the project. “I just cast Charlie Sheen in #machetekills as the President of the United States!” he wrote. “Who better?” Who better indeed. Sheen’s got presidential genes in him, after all, as the son of West Wing star Martin Sheen. But more than that, the idea of the tiger blood warlock as the leader of the free world is amusing, terrifying, and above-all, attention grabbing.

It probably works out for Sheen as well. After an ugly public meltdown that led to his getting booted from CBS’ Two and a Half Men, the star has been getting his career back on track. In addition to Machete Kills, Sheen’s current projects include his new FX series Anger Management (which he’s been calling his ‘swan song’) and the Roman Coppola-directed film A Glimpse Inside The Mind Of Charles Swan III.

Rodriguez also uploaded a few images from the set, shortly before the casting announcement. Stars Danny Trejo and Jessica Alba feature prominently, as does an all-female mariachi band.

While an early synopsis had ex-federale Machete (Trejo) battling a cartel leader and an arms dealer, Rodriguez recently laughed up the plot descriptions, declaring, “it’s all fake.” What we do know is that the sequel will see Machete recruited by the POTUS, and that it’ll be “like a James Bond movie” with some kind of “space element.”

Also starring Demián Bichir, Michelle Rodriguez, Amber Heard, and Sofia Vergara, Machete Kills is shooting now and will hit theaters sometime next year.